March 2024
Food Guide for your First Trip to Japan through the Golden Route – Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka
One of the biggest attractions when visiting Japan is the food. Over two weeks, we would be hitting Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, and Osaka, and make sure to check out What to Expect When Visiting Japan for the First Time to supplement this post. And when I started making my usual “stars” on Google Maps, it quickly got out of control – I had enough places I wanted to try to last a year of meals… and that was just in Tokyo. I also kept our schedules flexible so that if something pulled us in one direction, I did not want to be tied down by running around the city to try and eat at all these spots. Also, many places do not take reservations and the most popular spots require a several hour queue. I needed a different strategy.
Unlike other dining options in other countries, in Japan restaurants and dining establishments focus on one thing and that’s it – if you go to a tempura place, its tempura – if you go to a katsu place, you will be eating katsu – and so on. And what is fantastic is typically in the name of the restaurant you can piece together what they serve. While many of these spots do not take reservations, that does not mean you will have an easy time snagging a seat. For the most sensationalized and popular places, lines can be hours long so make sure to weigh how much time is worth spending on your vacation. We showed up to one udon spot and were quickly turned away as we learned it was a ticket system that already sold out for the day. There are so many places to eat in Japan – be flexible.
So knowing all this, I devised a new strategy. Instead of picking out specific spots to eat, I would make it a goal on the trip to eat at each of the types of dishes I wanted to try on the trip. Then make it like a bingo card by having it organized by geographic area. Then, depending on where we were in the city, we could pick a spot to eat depending on which type of dish we wanted to try.
Before I dive into the bingo chart I created, let’s break down the various dishes that should be on your radar when traveling to Japan. This is by no means an all inclusive list but with limited meals on a vacation, this is where we focused on attention.
- Ramen – Japanese noodle soup that has noodles, rich broth, pork, bean sprouts, and a boiled egg. There are a few different broth bases including tonkotsu (pork broth), miso (miso broth), and shoyu (soy sauce based) and each ramen restaurant will specialize in a specific broth for their ramen.
- Katsu – Japanese cutlet that is breaded and fried. Depending on the meat being used will dictate the name. Tonkatsu – Japanese pork cutlet; Katsu – Japanese chicken cutlet; Gyukatsu – Japanese beef cutlet
- Sushi – Probably the dish most foreigners are familiar with but I will say, it was not as prevalent as I expected. There are definitely well rated ones around but for us, this was not a priority since we have easy access to it back home.
- Omakase – Literally translates to “leave it up to you”, this style of dining usually consists of an intimate dining experience with a trained chef serving fresh sashimi typically purchased that morning. This is a more expensive dining experience but we found one that we felt was great quality and reasonably priced. Since seating is extremely limited and this type of dining experience is in high demand, this is the one reservation you should have ahead of your trip. After much research, we picked Isana Sushi Bar and had a wonderful omakase meal.
- Yakitori – Meaning grilled chicken, a yakitori restaurant does just that but for every part of the chicken. Bamboo sticks are used to spear up different pieces of the chicken and grilled over a fire. These bit size portions make it easy to try something new or out of your comfort zone without the risk of wasting a lot of money.
- Donburi – A catch all term for rice bowls that can have different proteins on top like fish or meat. The donburi bowl we had was covered with various seafood items. If something has – don in the name, it is a rice bowl. So Gyudon is a beef bowl, katsudon is cutlet bowl, Unagidon is an eel bowl.
- Izakaya – this is a Japanese diner where you can get a little something from a lot of places. Have a group that wants to eat different dishes? Try an izakaya.
- Udon / Soba – more noodle dishes! Some hot, some cold, some in broth, some by itself.
- Tempura – Another dish foreigners are probably very familiar with, tempura is batter and deep fried seafood and vegetables. Japanese comfort food at it’s finest.
- Japanese curry – This curry is not your typical curry. Unlike the Indian curry, Japanese curry is less spice based and more like a thick stew. This was one of Kevin’s favorite discoveries when we were there – typically served over katsu and rice that soak up the delicious curry.
- Kaiseki – A multi-course Japanese meal that is based off of in-season dishes served as small portions that are artfully presented and plentiful in number. This is typically found in Kyoto and at ryokan experiences. Our kaiseki experience at our overnight ryokan was amazing so I highly recommend incorporating this into your trip if you can.
- Teppanyaki – a restaurant that prepares food on a flat-surfaced grill but it is not hibachi. A variety of delicious dishes are available – kobe beef, okonomiyaki, yakisoba and more – and teppanyaki restaurants and our meal here was definitely one of our favorites of the trip.
The grid I made broke things down by dish and by the neighborhood so once we were hungry, I would consult the grid to see where we were / going and which dishes we still had to fit into the trip. The goal was to eat at least one of each dish, like a bingo card.
PRO TIP: When searching for places to eat, look at reviews in Japanese to see how liked the restaurant is by locals. Also, search for key words in Japanese characters – look up the word in Google Translate before searching in Google Maps.
Tokyo
| Neighborhood | Ramen | Tonkatsu | Sushi | Yakitori | Donburi | Izakaya | Kobe / Yakiniku | Udon / Soba | Tempura |
| Akiharbara / Askuara / Ueno | Ichiran Ramen* Ippudo | Asakusa Gyukatsu Gyukatsu Motomura Akihabara Gyukatsu Gyukatsu Ichi Ni San* | Matsuyama Sushi | Torijin Yakitori Omino | Kubota* (unagi) | Tsurujiro (Okonomiyaki) | Asakusa Imahan Wagyu Yakiniku Panga Jiromaru Akihabara | Kanda Matsuya Soba | |
| Tokyo Station and Ginza | Chukasoba Ginza Hachigou | Sushi no Midori Ginza | Nihonbashi Tendon Kaneko Hannosuke Tsujihan ZEITAKU*(seafood) Unafuji (unagi) | Tenmo Tempura | |||||
| Shibuya | Ichiran Ramen Oreryu Shio Ramen Jingu-mae Ebisu Ramen | Katsudon-ya Zuicho | Yakitori Fujimaki Yakitori Tsukada Shibuya | Mahakala 35 steps bistro | Hakushū Teppanyaki | ||||
| Shinjuku | Ichiran Ramen Ramen NagiFu-unji | Katsukura Shinjuku Takashimaya | Uogashi Nihon-Ichi | Gyopao Gyoza* Shinjuku | Udon Shin | Tempura Shinjuku Tsunahachi Souhonten |
*indicates where we ate on our trip
Kyoto
| Neighborhood | Ramen | Tonkatsu | Udon | Izakaya | Yakitori | Miscellanous | Teppanyaki |
| West bank | Men-ya Inoichi Hanare Sen-no-Kaze Ginjo Ramen Kubota Kyoto Engine Ramen* | Katsukura Tonkatsu Sanjo Tonkatsu Ichiban Niigata Katsudon Tarekatsu* | Omen – Shijo Ponto-choowariya (soba) Tsukumo Udon | Tsugu Nonkiya Mune Tsuneya Densuke Sambongi Shoten Shutei Bankara Sakedokoro Terayama | Yakitori Hitomi Yakitori Kanazawa Tsujiya Shijogokomachiten* | Tempura Kitenya Kikyo Sushi Berangkat Nishiki Sushi Shin Eel Rice Kamehameha (Okonomiyaki) Watanabe (Okonomiyaki) | Kyo Chabana |
| East bank | Tokkyu Ramen | Udon Sanshiki Honke | Gion Kappa Restaurant | Hiiragitei | Gyoza Hohei Washoku HoraiKanesho (unagi) | Teppanyaki Manryu Teppan Tavern Tenamonya* |
*indicates where we ate on our trip
Food Markets
One of the best places to try a wide variety of food in small portions is food markets and Japan is full of them. Each city along the Golden Route has a fantastic market that is a must on your trip. Use the opportunity to try things that are completely new and maybe you don’t even know what it is.
- Toyko: Tsukiji food market
- We tried tamagoyaki which is a Japanese rolled omelette with dashi, charred eel liver on a stick and strawberry mochi
- Kyoto: Nishiki Market
- We tried takoyaki – dumpling with a piece of octopus inside, takotamago – baby octopus with quail egg inside head, and red bean mochi with strawberry on top
- Osaka: Dotonbori Street is one big market – just follow the smells, what looks good, and the lines of people.
- Okonomiyaki – savory pancake (go to Chibo)
- Mitarashi-Dango – rice balls with a sweet soy sauce
- Daifuku Mochi – strawberry red bean mochi
- Takoyaki – octopus batter balls topped with banito flakes
- Taiyaki – fish shaped pastry filled with custard
- Yakitori – grilled meat on a stick
- Kushikatsu – fried food on a stick
Other Food Options
Besides the traditional spots to eat, there are so many more places to explore food.
- Convenience stores (known as konbini): Do not sleep on convenience stores! It is essential for your Japan trip and you will be forever jealous they are not an international phenomenon – they are absolutely the best here! You can get something as simple as snacks to full meals that are heated up behind the check out counter. We walked in and were blown away by all the offerings! There are walls of refrigerated items from rice triangles, bento boxes, various rice and noodles bowls, sandwiches, and more. And for meals that can be heated up, the staff can do that for you as well as providing utensils for eating. Then there are frozen sections for various desserts and frozen meals. The rest of the store is jam packed with drinks, snacks, baked goods, household items, alcohol, and more. And finally there is the hot section of freshly made items such as bao buns, chicken, and more. We did several laps to familiarize ourselves before making a few selections. What we loved is how inexpensive everything was here! And did I mention these are all open 24/7?
- Vending machines: Scattered throughout the streets, train stations, and neighborhoods, vending machines provide a wide variety of offerings and each one is different. While they typically focus on beverage – both hot and cold – some also have snacks as well.
Food is part of the culture of Japan and was certainly a highlight of our trip. Having access to so many different dishes makes every stop an adventure. I felt the grid system worked tremendously well for our trip and we were able to eat from as many categories as we possibly could. I hope this helps plan your amazing Japan trip!